NCJ Number
143168
Journal
Justice System Journal Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Dated: (1993) Pages: 21-44
Date Published
1993
Length
24 pages
Annotation
An empirical examination of U.S. punitive damage awards for personal injury in product liability cases reveals that such awards are rare, with the exception of asbestos cases.
Abstract
Decreases in the number of punitive damage awards, the size of the typical verdict, and the percentage of the jury award collected posttrial correlate with the enactment of State tort reforms. In States without tort reforms, punitive damages are very difficult to award and collect, suggesting that other mechanisms restrict the remedy in the absence of State legislation. State legislative retrenchment of punitive damages focuses on heightened standards of proof, bifurcating punitive damage trials, caps on punitive damages, judge-assessed punitive damages, and limiting punitive damages to a single award. Punitive damages in product liability cases have increased in States with and without punitive damage reforms. The authors believe that punitive damages in product liability cases should not be a serious concern to American manufacturers and that further tort reform is not likely to have much impact on this already well-controlled remedy. An appendix lists selected punitive tort reforms and dates enacted. 48 footnotes, 2 tables, and 11 figures